Etymology

Ferryhill

F4E1R1R1Y4H4I1L1L1

Today it means: A town and civil parish with a town council in County Durham, England (OS grid ref NZ2932). Full definition →

Middle English Ferye on the Hill ← Anglian Old English fergen ← Proto-West Germanic *fergunī
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fergunją
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*fergunī
  3. Anglian Old English · inherited fromfergen“wooded mountain”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromFerye on the Hill
  5. English todayFerryhill

Inherited from Middle English Ferye on the Hill, for earlier Ferie, Feregenne (perhaps to distinguish it from Ferrybridge), from Anglian Old English fergen (“wooded mountain”), from Proto-West Germanic *fergunī, from Proto-Germanic *fergunją. For the phonological development, compare eerie and dialectal swally (“to swallow”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.